NEWS
Grenade seized, manhunt for suspect
A team of soldiers joined police officers of Central Division late yesterday afternoon as they stepped up the search for a suspected arms smuggler following the discovery of a hand grenade inside the mangrove in Carli Bay, Couva . The entire area bordering the PCS Nitrogen plant was cordoned off as attempts were made to flush out the suspect, who up to press time, was believed to be somewhere in the thick and murky mangrove . Police are working on a theory that he could be carrying a black knapsack containing more hand grenades after they found one which may have fallen out as he ran deep inside the mangrove as he was chased by police officers who had spotted him while on patrol in the area. According to a police report, at about 10.45 am, officers of the Couva Task Force Unit were on patrol along Carli Bay Road and on entering a lonely road which leads into the mangrove, they observed a man in his 30s, of mixed descent, about six feet tall, with long unkempt hair, bareback and wearing a three quarter pants, emerging from inside the mangrove. Read more…
Error keeps 7 in jail overnight
Eight of the men accused of murdering businesswoman Vindra Naipaul-Coolman almost a decade ago, were yesterday acquitted at the end of the longest and most expensive trial in this country’s history. It took a 12-member jury sitting in the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court four hours to review the evidence presented in the trial over the past two years, before returning not guilty verdicts for twin brothers Shervon and Devon Peters, and their older brother Dwayne Gloster, siblings Keida and Jamille Garcia, Marlon Trimmingham, Ronald Armstrong and Antonio Charles. Two of their co-accused Trimmingham’s brother Earl and Lyndon Charles—were not as lucky, though, as the jury could not decide on a unanimous verdict for both men, forcing presiding Judge Malcolm Holdip to order them to be retried. Read more…
'Vindra's family is supposed to get justice'
After spending nearly a decade in prison, Devon Peters walked away a free man yesterday, declaring his innocence and saying justice must be served for the woman whom he was accused of murdering, businesswoman Vindra Naipaul-Coolman. He also said the two accused who remain incarcerated must “hold strong” as they would also get their justice. Read more…
POLITICS
Dillon: Due process in case of jailed Trinis
The five Trinis jailed on suspicion of terrorism in Venezuela will have to wait until due process is completed, before they are released, Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon said yesterday. On Monday, Dillon met with members of the Venezuelan government to discuss security measures that could be of mutual benefit both countries. During this meeting the issue of the five detained men was raised, but Dillon said they would have to abide by Venezuelan law. “One has to recall that the persons detained are before the courts of Venezuela,” said Dillon. “Therefore it is left upon the government and judiciary to determine protocols and methodology in terms of those persons. We have asked that the matter be treated expeditiously because those five persons have been before the courts for about two years. We cannot interfere with the judicial process in Venezuela,” Dillon said. Read more…
Minister’s wife seeks end to child marriages
Camille McMillan-Rambharat, wife of Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat, is leading an online public campaign to end child marriages in T&T. Using her Facebook page, McMillan-Rambharat has been raising public awareness about the existing Marriage Act which allows girls as young as 12 to be married. In an interview McMillan-Rambharat said her campaign was not political. “For over 20 years I have been involved in issues relating to children and young people, particularly girls. This includes issues on care and protection of children in foster homes, numeracy and literacy issues, nutrition, mentorship and career development,” she explained. Read more…
Carmona defends 15-day delay
President Anthony Carmona paused, took advice, and then yesterday he assented to the Strategic Services Agency (Amendment) Bill. And he defended the 15-day delay, considered unusually lengthy, in giving his approval, stating in “every bill to be assented, there is always a need or cause for pause”. Traditionally, presidents would assent to legislation within 24 hours of receipt of advice from the Attorney General, in relation to the assenting of an act. Power to withhold assent. Read more…
BUSINESS
32 million man hours, no major injuries
Atlantic chief executive officer Nigel Darlow recently basked in the glory of the company’s highest ever levels of performance, in its 17 years operating history, in areas of safety, asset integrity and reliability and that this country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) business can continue to be successful globally. ” Speaking at the company’s eighth annual Atlantic CEO’s Sustainability Awards, Darlow said, “Atlantic’s performance is something we are very proud of and we hope the country is proud of too.” He boasted that Atlantic has “probably the best safety record” of any LNG facility anywhere in the world as it has surpassed 32 million man hours without a significant injury which is equivalent to over eight years of safe operations while at the same time continuing to deliver its best ever plant performance – measured in terms of reliability . “So all these factors together with the fact that we have hugely talented people with deep LNG experience means that we need not worry about the ability of Atlantic to continue to be successful globally. That said, Atlantic is suffering badly from gas supply shortages every day. The Atlantic plant is now at record low levels of utilisation and we are failing to deliver on our LNG commitments. It is hurting Atlantic and its hurting the global reputation of Trinidad as a reliable producer of LNG. We have built a global reputation as a safe and reliable producer of LNG and we must continue to protect the reputation of Atlantic and Trinidad’s LNG on the world stage,” Darlow said. Read more…
Gas shortages hurting Atlantic
CEO of Atlantic Nigel Darlow said the company is suffering badly as a result of daily gas supply shortages and the Point Fortin liquefaction facility is now at “record low levels of utilisation” and is failing to deliver on its LNG commitments, “It is hurting Atlantic and its hurting the global reputation of Trinidad as a reliable producer of LNG. We have built a global reputation as a safe and reliable producer of LNG and we must continue to protect the reputation of Atlantic and Trinidad’s LNG on the world stage,” he told guests at the recent Atlantic CEO’s Sustainability Awards at the Trinidad Hilton and Conference Centre. Atlantic, one of the world’s largest producers of LNG, is among energy and petrochemical plants across the country affected by natural gas curtailments. The ongoing tight supply and demand situation, which has been affecting the gas industry since 2010, stems from extensive work to upgrade infrastructure as well as frequent disruptions. Read more…
Govt must focus on the bigger picture
The decades-old, mostly illegal practice of Venezuelans from communities in the eastern part of that country that are close to Trinidad hopping onto pirogues and making day-trips to this country to shop for certain foods and toiletries, has taken a new turn that compels national security and trade officials here to closely monitor such activities. Venezuelans shopping in towns along the Gulf of Paria coastline, from Claxton Bay in Central to Cedros in the far South, is nothing new. Read more…
REGIONAL
Stormy Defiance - Residents In Flood-Prone Areas Vow To Wait Out Hurricane Season
If weather experts are on target in their predictions for the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season, communities, including those along the country's coastline, must brace themselves for a tempestuous ride not seen since 2012. But some residents in these communities who barely escaped with their lives from previous hurricanes said they are not budging. The hurricane season begins today, and according to the deputy director general of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Richard Thompson, with 14 storms projected, and at least three expected to develop into major hurricanes, this season will be the most active in four years. Every year, communities along the island's coastline and on the edges of rivers and gullies experience massive flooding, causing serious devastation. Many persons living in such conditions have always refused to relocate. In some of the badly affected communities, specifically Manchioneal in Portland; Portland Cottage in Clarendon; and Broadgate in St Mary, residents revealed to The Gleaner their reasons for not wanting to relocate during storms. They told us why they continue to reside at their homes knowing that at anytime they and their families can be washed away. Read more…
St Kitts-Nevis financial secretary addresses de-risking banking issue
The threats to the region’s banking sector due to de-risking could have disastrous implications for the Caribbean region and as such Hilary Hazel, financial secretary in St Kitts, has shed some light on the issue as it pertains to the Federation during the prime minister’s monthly press conference on Monday.
The threat relates to the possible loss of access to international financial markets by mainly the regional indigenous banks. Several international banks, mainly in the US and Europe, have signaled to client banks in the region an unwillingness to continue carrying their business. The so-called ‘de-risking’ by the global banks threatens to impact several critical services including remittance transfers. International trade and the facilitation of credit card settlements for local clients are among the other effects the region faces. “St Kitts and Nevis is actually a part of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) advances towards dealing with this critical problem that affects the region as a whole,” said the financial secretary. “We continue to be very robust in the interim in St Kitts and Nevis to have proper management of the financial services sector. We have continued to look at modernizing the laws, making sure that they are appropriate for our modern times and also to keep up-to-date with the changes as they affect the financial services sector.” Read more…
INTERNATIONAL
EgyptAir Flight 804: Possible underwater signal detected, investigators say
A French naval vessel has detected an underwater signal that could have originated from one of the so-called black boxes of missing EgyptAir Flight 804, according to the Egyptian investigative committee. Specialized locator equipment on board the French vessel La Place has detected a signal from the seabed in the search area in the Mediterranean Sea, the committee said in a statement. The signal is "assumed to be from one of the data recorders." La Place is part of the team of vessels involved in intensive search operations to find the flight data and cockpit voice recorders from the Airbus A320 aircraft. The recorders could reveal evidence about what caused the crash. Flight 804 crashed May 19 in the Mediterranean en route from Paris to Cairo. Authorities hope to recover the data recorders, so a specialized vessel managed by the Deep Ocean Search company can then retrieve them. That vessel is set to join the search team within a week, the investigative committee said. Read more…
Switzerland Gotthard: World's longest and deepest rail tunnel opens
1st June 2016